The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1887-06-15
Copyrighted, 1871


as my residence of over year in their
country taught me, for they are really
dextrous with the needle and do work
which is as fine as that done by the sis
tiers in the converts, or that of the wives
of the feudal noblemen of olden times.
The fayorite pastime of the Turkish
women is the bath, which brings to-
gether the wives and slaves of all the
well-to-do Turks, and it is like a picnic
of school children. These wives, most
of them very young-some, indeed, not
over twelve and fourteen years old-take
their lunch along and they eat and steam,
plunge and splash and play pranks upon
each other in the widest glee the whole
day long. No fear of an angry husband
haunts their minds, for they are not ex-
pected to do anything and their hus-
bands very rarely enter the harems be-
sore six o'clock. By that time they are
all back, rosy and sweet from their bath.
At the baths here is often an old
woman who has the faculty of relating
stories, and she is eagerly listened to by
these grown-up children; and the stories
are generally of the Arabian Nights
order, full of genii, beautiful ladies, and
charming youths, and jealous husbands
Many lesson is given as to how to out
wit the most jealous of men through
these stories-a lesson they are neither
slow to learn or practice. The way they
are watched and confined always made me
think of the woman who cautioned her in
nocent children not to put blue beans In
their noses while she was out. The magic
lantern entertainments amuse these
ignorant Gagged birds. Dancing girls,
singing and playing the lutte, playing
with the babies and occasionally quarrel
ing with each other take up some of their
time; a weekly tour of the bazars and
once in a while visit to the harem OF
some other Turk still leave much time
ON their hands that the rare calls of their
husbands, the eating of sweetmeats or
smoking Of cigarettes cannot FILL and so
they give their poor little minds to
fancy work. They very seldom learn
how to read or perhaps books would
help them through, and they never make
their own clothes, though they do some
times decorate them deliberately after
other have made them.
they have frames made on which their
embroidery is worked, and on velvet,
satin, or that beautiful and durable
Broussa gauze they embroider with ex-
quisite fineness and taste. The most OF
their embroidery is done in durable and
admirably arranged colors, In subdued
tones, which seems to me remarkable In
women who are so fond of brilliant pri-
mary colors and ill-assorted contrast.
They have no patterns, but work out
graceful and beautiful fantasies, and all
done with the most extreme care and
fineness, requiring patience and extra
good eyesight.
They work in gold and silver threads
70 great extent and they make cushions
for their divans which are stiff with the
finest of gold and silver needlework.
Their jackets are worked SO thickly
over with gold and silver arabesques and
other patterns that they are almost as
stiff as our corsets. Their slippers are
ornamented as we'll with gold and silver
embroidery over velvet or satin, and seed
pearls and fine coral and turquoise beads
are lavishly used with beautiful effect.
They also work gold borders to their
bathing wraps. This Is done In outline
work in chain-stitch. The little Broussa
neckties are worked in the same manner,
only that the 1ourah or national coat-of-
arms Is always placed at the end with a
verse from the Koran worked In gold
thread at the bottom.
They make very beautiful and dura-
BILE lace out of silk thread which resem-
bles no other lace ever saw. The mesh
is thick, but not heavy, and different
flowers are frequently made In relief
upon 1t. have seen piece of this lace
three yards in length and quarter of
yard deep. On 1t ran rose branch,
every leaf, bud and flower being made
separate and laid in relief upon 1t, joined
firmly and yet loose. The roses were
perfect fac-similes of roses with, per-
haps, hundred petals. Another woman
had made in this lace work little gar
den about fifteen inches square. There
were the trees, about three inches high,
flowers of different kinds and two or
three birds, all made of this lace and set
in relief, tiny wires being run through
the stems of the flowers and trunks of
the trees to keep them upright.
The soft and durable crane undershirts,
or pemhasars, as they are called, all have
around the bottom, on the bottoms of the
long, loose sleeves, and around the neck
an edging of the finest work l ever saw,
and which renders the edge indestructi-
BILE. These garments are left unfinished
when manufactured for each to finish ac-
cording to her own taste. They have
long, loose sleeves, and are otherwise
made like q mans night shirt. The
Turkish women wear no other undergar-
ments, and the jacket sleeves only reach
the elbow, so that these flow loose below
like undersleeves They are delicately
soft and semi-transparent.
The .feriQjees or outdoor wraps look
as far as shape Is concerned about as
graceful as waterproof cloak; they
are shaped like big loose night-gown,
with loose sleeves, and a long flap hang
ing from the shoulders to the HEELS
These are usually made of black alpaca
or farmers satin, but you often see them
of the most brilliant colored silk or satin.
They are made without trimming for the
most part, and are simply hemmed; but
these ladies make narrow trimmings to
go around the edges of the most ex-
quisite daintiness in the shape of shells,
diamond braids and many other ingenious
shapes out of the same material as the
feridjees and not over half an inch wide
l remember noticing one which had
a trimming made of miniature pears and
leaves, which was extremely pretty
Another resembled flight of swallows
done in dark blue satin.
We might suppose that these women
would take pleasure in making and en-
broidering their baby's clothes as do
other women; but as babies are simply
swathed in endless rollers like mummy
until thew are ak months old orna.